LSD AND DISTORTED PERCEPTION

Dear Editor:

"The Psychedelic Pioneers," a documentary about experiments with LSD
in Saskatchewan in the 1950s and 1960s, will air on SCN on Oct. 26 at
9 p.m. Interest in the drug may revive. It is being used in the
treatment of people addicted to crack cocaine and to crystal meth,
apparently with some success.

The news really doesn't frighten me, because I am well-acquainted with
LSD. I trained in psychiatric nursing at Weyburn when the first
experiments were underway. Later as Dr. Hoffer's team leader at
University Hospital, Saskatoon, I won a reputation as a good LSD
sitter and guided quite a few treatments. I published the first
article about the nurse's role in LSD (American Journal of Nursing,
1964), and yes, I took it once.

Because it distorted perception, LSD was believed to produce a model
of schizophrenia, so many professionals took it hoping to increase
empathy for their patients. A note in the Leader-Post announcing the
film stated the Saskatchewan group trained their psychiatric nurses
with LSD to make them more empathic toward psychotic patients. That is
misleading. It would be highly unethical to give a drug to students as
part of training. Few students took LSD and, when graduates took it,
they took it voluntarily.

The drug was not given to schizophrenic patients.

Alcoholics and people with various character disorders found it
beneficial. Every subject was screened and they had to clarify what
they hoped to achieve by taking LSD. The doctor administered the drug
(100 to 400 micrograms of clear liquid in water) and often talked to
the patient until it took effect. The sitter spent the whole day with
him.

Where possible, we allowed a patient a choice of nurse because someone
under LSD would be sensitive and could easily suffer a sense of
rejection or become suspicious. He needed an understanding companion.
He was never left alone for an instant. The nurse was his anchor,
reminding him he was in hospital and that he would be returning to the
world of "reality." Everything was done to keep the atmosphere
pleasant and comfortable. No one entered but the doctor. There was
always flowers. Music selected by the patient the day before would be
played. Often there was a period of four hours or more when the
patient didn't speak, but the nurse couldn't allow her concentration
to slip. Sitting a treatment was draining, and often we refused to sit
another for three or four weeks, to give ourselves time to re-group.

We were not "trained" to be LSD sitters. We had a handbook based on
Duncan Blewett's observations of a typical session. It was believed
that if you had been through a LSD experience, you made a better
sitter. The role required empathy and commitment, as well as
flexibility. It helped to be intuitive Above all, it required an
attention span at least eight hours long.

LSD was unpredictable. The subject might experience "a good trip,"
with little anxiety and lots of insight. He might enjoy seeing colors
brighter, all perception enhanced. A "bad trip" was hellish and
accomplished little. Sometimes a subject would experience a second
treatment at a later date and have a completely different day.

Considering the risk, why do I not fear the return of LSD? LSD seems
to be the polar opposite of the dangerous street drugs. It actually
enhances the moral sense and can lead to growth of self-respect and
sometimes to strengthening of character. It causes the subject to
confront himself. It is not associated with violence and crime.

Of course it is risky, but psychiatry used pure LSD in minute doses
and under extremely well-controlled circumstances. Dr. Osmond once
wrote he regretted telling Timothy Leary about his hopes for the drug,
because Leary promptly popularized it.

Thousands of young people began taking it sometimes in impure form, in
questionable dosage, without proper supervision.

They were not screened for symptoms which might have indicated danger
of developing a psychosis. For more than a decade, we had a continent
of "heads" wandering around in pretty abnormal states. There was an
outcry against LSD.

When flashbacks began to occur, symptoms returning weeks or months
after an experience, questions rose as to whether LSD was as safe as
we had believed. As these fears surfaced, in the mid 1960s,
Saskatchewan discontinued the drug.

Now it is back in use. Will it get out of hand again? Who knows? I
only know I would rather see a lot of LSD around than a lot of crystal
meth. Remember how the hippies used to hand out flowers? They may have
been stoned, but they talked of peace.

KAY PARLEY

Saskatoon